Level layer winding machine



July 9, 1968 Filed Oct. 3. 1966 w. R. WHITE ET AL 3,391,880

LEVEL LAYER WINDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JMA QMQ/nm United States Patent 3,391,880 LEVEL LAYER WINDING MACHINE William R. White and Chester 0. Merchant, Owenshoro,

Ky., assignors to Kentucky Electronics, Inc., Owensboro, Ky., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 583,575 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-1584) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine is disclosed for level winding wire on reels which includes a movable wire feed trolley assembly for directing wire from a source to side by side strand positions in level layers on a reel. The trolley assembly is traversed back and forth by a mechanism synchronously geared to the rotation of the reel. A roller riding on the topmost wire layer moves parallel to the axis of the reel with the trolley assembly to pivot the trolley assembly and change the wire feed angle as a function of the layer thickness and to engage the rim of the reel to effect a change of direction at each end of the layer by means of a reversal switch. The roller-pivot mechanism is counterbalanced to rest easily upon the surface of the wire and has a lever mechanism for moving it out of operational position when changing reels.

This invention relates to machinery for spooling wire upon reels and, more specifically, it relates to controls for winding wire of various sizes in level layers on the reels.

In using wire for manufacturing items of high precision such as use of nickel wire in construction of electronic tubes, the wire must not have any sharp kinks or bends that need straightening or which might produce unwanted annealing properties due to the bending kinking or straightening. It has been found that wire randomly wound on reels tends to produce such kinks and bends at crossover positions. Also, even if level winding techniques are used, such kinks and bends may still result at the edges of the reels where the wire is traversed or at other positions where the feed permits wires to skip a turn or double up. Improper feed may occur for example, because the feed angle for the wire tends to cause one layer to slip over or into a groove between adjacent rows.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide improved level wind machinery for reeling wire which has precise controls for assuring uniform feed characteristics for producing layers with wire layers precisely placed on top of one another.

One object of the invention is to provide for winding precisely wires of various sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide precise controls for reversal of the feed at the end of each level wind layer of wire.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a level wind machine for wire which permits reels to be changed simply.

The improved level winding machinery afforded by this invention therefore includes a rotatable spool clamp for holding and turning the reels at a predetermined constant speed synchronously related to the traversing speed of a wire feed table which is geared to traverse wire being wound back and forth across the reel at a rate proportional to the diameter of the wire so that strands are level wound in side-by-side relationship. At each end of the reel the wire position is sensed by a special mechanism sensing the reel directly to take into account any variations in reel dimensions, and the traverse gearing is reversed at exactly the proper position by control of an electrically "ice operated clutch. A pivoted mechanism is included in accordance with this invention to control the layering of the wire as a function of the pivot angle.

In order to assure the proper feed angle of the wire it is controlled effectively in three dimensions by means of a trolley wire feed mechanism providing pivot points for the wire to move in two normal directions. Thus, one pivot control changes the wire feed angle as the layer thickness of the wire wound on the reel changes. This is accomplished by a roller traversing the surface of the wire already wound upon the reel which pivots the wire feed table away from the reel about an axis parallel to the reel axis. A second pivot control comprises a pair of wire feed rods which change the angle of the feed of the wire along the axis of the reel as the wire changes direction at each end of the winding layers.

This improved level layer winding machinery is described in greater detail in the following specification with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partial left elevation view of a level layer winding machine embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of a feed wire rod assembly adjustment afforded by the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a partial top plan view of the winding machine embodiment;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view of a trolley lift mechanism used in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a schematic diagram of a control system for controlling wire traversal in accordance with this invention.

It may be seen from FIGURE 1 that wires from a supply not shown is fed across trolley pulley 9 extended from the machine on a brace 10 and is led through a pair of feed rods 11 onto the reel 12. These hardened steel feed rods 11A and 11B are mounted eccentrically in a holder 13 afiixed to movable frame 14, which as may be seen from FIGURE 2 are preferably mounted eccentrically as by means of off center screws 15 so that a single set of feed rods may be pivoted about to just permit passage of wire 8 of any appropriate diameter without binding or flopping. This assures accurate guiding and control throughout the level winding process and the trolley arrangement serves to make a transition between the general direction of wire led from the source to the precise directional requirement in the level wound reeling system.

The wire feed trolley assembly, comprising members 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14, rests during the winding upon roller 16 which rides upon the level 17 of the wire being wound on the reel to pivot the movable frame 14 normal to the axis of the reel 12 about pivot shaft 18 mounted in traversing frame member 20 which is driven by advancement screw 21 as journaled in guide rods 22, 23 to traverse the axis of the reel at a rate exactly coinciding with the diameter of the wire 8. The gearing and gear change mechanism for this is conventional in lathes and screw machines and thus is not shown in the drawing. The pivoted frame member 14 is counterbalanced by adjustable weight 24 to provide proper tension by force of gravity for the roller 16 to ride upon the surface of the wire.

The roller frame 30 is also pivoted within frame 14 for perpendicular movement in a direction along the axis of the reel as provided by pivot shaft 31. As may be better seen from FIGURE 3, a forked array 32 is affixed to the pivoted roller frame 30 by the pivot shaft 31. This serves to actuate alternatively the electrical shaft operated switches 33, 34 as the roller engages the respective rims 35, 36 of the reel 12. To assure precise control at exactly the proper position for a complete layer, a micrometer stop assembly 37 is provided for contacting each switch shaft 38.

As noted in FIGURE 1, a detent ball 60 mates with notch 61 to hold the traverse arm or roller frame 30 in its central position, where neither microswitch 33, 34 is operated. As the spool flange encounters roller 16 the ball detenting action is overcome to permit pivot of the fork 32 into the appropriate microswitch. The ball detent recenters in the central position when the feed is reversed to remove pressure of the flange from roller 16. This may be accomplished for example by opposed springs 62, 63 between the fork arms 32 and the limit switch frames.

Not only does the pivot :action normal to the reel axis (about shaft 18) provide control to change the wire feed direction across trolley wheel 9 as the diameter of wire wound on the reel 12 increases, but it also permits ready removal of the wire feed trolley assembly from within the reel 12 when the proper number of turns of wire are wound (as may be determined by a counter, not shown, synchronized with shaft 21). For this purpose hand operated lever 40 together with gears 41, 42 are provided to pivot frame 14 and move the trolley assembly out of operational position or to replace it in gravity held position with roller 16 on the reel 12, as seen from FIGURE 4 in more detail.

As seen from FIGURE 5, the system operation is quite simple with a motor 49 driving both shaft 21 for traversing the level wind frame 20 and the shaft 50 for driving the reel 12 through its position clamped in a rotary spool clamp at correspondingly synchronized speeds set up in gear box 51. The traversing shaft 21 is, however, controlled through the reversible clutch assembly 52 by means of the limit switches 33, 34 to assure a reversal of direction of the wire layer feed on the reel precisely as it reaches each end.

Accordingly, this invention has provided a novel layer winding machine which operates to control precisely the layering of wire so that variations in reel size or shape and variations in feed angles as the reel is filled are taken into account without causing erroneous layering, tangling, or unwanted cross overs even at the ends where the direction of feed is traversed. Those novel features of this improved machine which are believed descriptive of the scope and nature of the invention are defined with particularity in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A level winding machine for spooling wire of different diameters from a source onto reels with end rims comprising in combination, means rotating the reels, wire feed table means movable axially along the reels, means synchronously geared with said means rotating the reels to traverse said table means back and forth at a speed causing wire to be level wound in side by side strands, wire feed trolley assembly means moved with said table means and including a trolley pulley extended away from the reels to pass a wire from said source over said pulley to said reels at a predetermined feed angle disposed normal to the axis of the reels, means between said trolley pulley and said reel to intercept said wire and confine it in a space along the reel axis substantially the thickness of said wire to establish a pivot point for changing the feed angle of the wire along the axis of the reels, and a pivoted mechanism included in said table means to pivot substantially along the axis of the reels thereby to traverse with said wire feed table and including a roller disposed to rest upon wire wound on the reels at the axial position feed by said trolley assembly and pivoting with respect to the trolley assembly only in the vicinity of the rims as the roller engages said rims, for controlling the direction of traverse.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 where n the pivoted mechanism having said roller moving generally along the axis of the reels to engage the rim of the reels at each end of the traverse to sense a traversal position, includes electrical switches actuated at a predetermined pivot angle by said pivoted mechanism and electrically controlled traversal mechauism operated by said switches.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2 wherein the pivoted mechanism hasa detent holding it in a stable centered position overcome by contact of the rim of the reels with the pivot mechanism and biasing means returning the mechanism to its detented position when contact of the rim of the reels with the pivot mechanism is released.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,254,220 9/ 1941 Hubbard 242--25 2,478,413 8/ 1949 Merwin 242-1583 2,519,461 8/1950 Hanson 242-1583 2,933,265 4/ 1960 Lorenz 242158 3,220,666 11/ 1965 Phillips et a1 24276 FOREIGN PATENTS 836,412 6/1960 Great Britain.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner. 

